Echoes of the Past
by NaughtyPenguinz
Summary: A bounty from the Reef summoned him and his fire team to the Reef, a request from a Queen could not be easily ignored. What fate awaits this titan and his fire team?


Chapter 1: Prologue

_Everyone has things they excel at, some are natural born athletes while others find themselves more attuned to academics. This fact is also true for Guardians, though most just think that only decides what order they fall into; Titan, Hunter, Warlock. There is more to it for the defenders of the city, some Guardians have shown signs of being more suited to facing certain enemies. The Vanguard began to form certain fireteams of these specialists to go out and strike down their favored prey. _

_This is the story of one these teams._

_Fireteam Dawn Breaker._

They weren't the ones that destroyed the Black Heart. They didn't lead the expedition in the Vault of Glass to destroy Atheon. They didn't descended into the pits of the Moon to deliver Eris Morn's vengeance against Crota. That wasn't their job, they were busy keeping the Fallen in check. Ensured that whatever ground the Eliksni took, they didn't hold for long. The team compromised of an Exo Titan, A Sunbreaker mercenary that had been contracted by the Vanguard to help bolster their ranks who went by the name Echo-2. The wise cracking Awoken Hunter, Xin, who had a not so secret obsession with the Fallen. They final Guardian was another Awoken Hunter, Seraph, who had formed a quick friendship with the two.

So when the call from the Queen of the Reef had come and that had something to do with The House of Wolves. There was only one team to send to meet with the Queen.

"So, Echo, when is your contract finally going to end?" The lighthearted male voice sounded through his intercom. They had been in flight for a while now and they used small talk to pass the time. Though it seemed the Titan answered the question every day for the last year since he met Xin.

The Exo chuckled slightly. "When your Vanguard finally runs out of Glimmer." He answered as he always had.

"Damn, then you're going to probably be with us for... Forever." Seraph broke into the conversation.

"Yeah, it's starting to seem like that, ain't it." The Titan said more to himself then his comrades. Though he had begin to miss the forge on Mars and the many comrades that he had there. He hadn't spoken to any of them in quite a while. He only occasionally got a message from Magistrate Ouros, that asked how his health was and to inform him that he was still under contract with the vanguard. Though, his was sure that once his contracted was ended, he would likely miss the two people he had learned to call friends. There was a moment of silence before his Ghost, Nyx, suddenly spoke to him.

"Two Reef ships just pulled up beside us, Xin and Seraph both have guests all well." It said with its slightly worried feminine voice. "They do know we were coming right?" The small Ghost hovered closer to his body.

"Well, they didn't attempt to shoot us down so at least there's that." He paused for a moment before he reached down and pressed a small button on the console in front of him. "This is Fireteam Dawn Breaker, we are reporting to the request of your Queen." There was another small pause.

"Adjust to our heading and do not stray or else you will be fired upon." A rather monotone voice responded to him.

He let out a soft sigh before he turned his head to his Ghost. "See, nothing to be worried about."

"Yet." It shot back. His Ghost had always been a bit of a pessimist.

"You're right. Nothing to be worried about... Yet." He said with a bit of a laugh. The Fireteam shifted their course slightly and allowed themselves to guided further into the reef.

The deeper they flew into the Reef, the more destroyed ship they passed. The old dreadnoughts just drifted there, husks of what they used to be. The Awoken had likely already salvaged them for anything worth the time. Now they simple hung there as a silent warning of what awaits unwelcome guests.

"Some of these ships look ancient, Guardian." The Ghost's voice filled the silence of his ship.

"From what I've been told, the Reef appeared shortly after the Collapse. A lot of people died back then and I'm sure there have been plenty of souls to join them here since. Let's be sure that our Light isn't one of them." He said as he turned his head back and forth slowly, inspecting as many of the ships as possible.

"There is a landing area just ahead, you all will disembark there and will be guided on foot from there." The rather disgruntled voice spoke to all of them. Echo didn't bother to respond as he continued to steer his ship forward. It didn't take long for the platform to appear before them and the Fireteam positioned their ships above it. A moment all three of them appeared a foot off the ground before they landed on the floor. Echo landed softer then he was used to, likely due to the fact that it seemed they had a gravity generator that barely functioned.

"Don't worry, Echo, I think you're heavy enough not to float into the void." Xin said as he approached him.

The Titan hesitated for a moment. "Is that a fat joke?"

"No, no, no, no... Yes it was." The Hunter started laughing at his own joke, which was common practice for the man.

"Nah, look at me. I'm all twisted steel and sex appeal." Exo joked back. He lifted his arm to show a flexed gesture.

"Hey idiots, eyes front." Seraph spoke to them as she slipped past the two of them. The two men turned there heads forward to spot their new entourage of guards that would likely be with them for the remainder of their visit.

"We'll follow your lead here." Echo said lightly as the Guards surrounded them and didn't seem to make any other action.

"Welcome to the Reef, Guardians of the Last City." A voiced called over the tense silence. The three Guardians turned there attention to the woman that marched toward them. "I am Petra Venj, I was the Queen's emissary when the Queen first offered her bounties at your tower. It is a pleasure to welcome you here." The woman spoke quickly before she turned and began to move away from them. "But please follow me quickly, Her Majesty does not like to be kept waiting."

Seraph was the first to begin to follow the woman, her two comrades quickly fell in step behind her. "Do you know know why we were summoned here?" Seraph asked, only a few steps behind their liaison.

"It is not my place to say, but all will be explained shortly." The response was quick and to the point, Petra not giving them any more then that as they marched quickly through the claustrophobic halls. Soon they reached a set of rather large double doors, two sets of guards stationed on either side didn't even turn their heads to face them as they neared. Petra stopped and finally faced them again as they doors opened behind her. "Please, enter. You are expected." The words emphasized when she stepped aside and waved for them to continue.

As they enter, they continued along a narrow walkway that fell away to shadows beneath. There would be no way to know how far the fall would be from were Echo stood and he had no desire to discover. He turned his gaze towards the ceiling and found it similarly obscured. He returned his attention forward to the lifted platform before them, upon which sat a wide throne. A small figure sat upon it, body turned slightly and legs crossed lazily. The woman before them was obviously the Queen and although her posture displayed a sense of calm and control, Echo could nearly feel the anger radiating from her form. In the moment, he searched his memories for any possibilities if they had wronged her in anyway but came up short.

As the three Guardians came to a stop a few feet short of the raised platform, silence hung in the air for a few moments to long setting Echo even further on edge. "Your Grace." He spoke as his head bowed slightly forward.

As he lifted his attention back to the Queen, he nearly froze and neon blue eyes were locked on him, nearly looking through him. "In the interest of not wasting your time or mine, until a few days ago and I had the loyalty of a Fallen house, The House of Wolves, subjugated during the Reef Wars long ago. However, their Kell escaped and is leading the house once again." She paused for a moment to let the information sink in. "And all attempts to capture him and failed, and I cannot spare anyone else less I leave the Reef undefended. So I have no other course to but to turn to the Last City and offer the bounty to you Guardians. Do you accept?"

The Fireteam looked at one another, silently deciding on what course of action to take. "We accept." The three responded in unison.

"Good, I want Skolas brought back to me alive." She waved her hand at the door and only a moment passed before it started to open. "My Wrath will assist you in any way that she can."

As the other two turned and began to exit, Echo hesitated for a moment before he bowed his head once again. "Your Grace." He quickly spun on his heels and marched after her comrades, their foot falls echoing through the chamber loudly.

The hunt had begun.


End file.
